Tales of Reality
by Serrith
Summary: What if Lloyd was a girl? See what happens when I switch the genders of our favorite red-clad swordman and blonde chosen. OC insert, canon pairings
1. In Which We Meet the Female Protagonist

_~~So I was browsing through FF dot net and realized that I didn't see "What if Lloyd was a girl.." fanfics. Apparently I was expecting to see at least a few… I mean, who doesn't want to play with the idea of Kratos having a daughter? _

_I know I do. And so, from my twisted mind to yours, my answer to the question "What if Lloyd was a girl?"~~_

**CHAPTER 1: In Which We Meet the Female Protagonist******

_**"Your heart is my piñata."**_ _**—Chuck Palahniuk**_

"So this is it."

"Yup."

"This is what Jack's team has been working on for the past six years."

"Yup."

"And they're letting _you_test it."

"Yup."

"...Aren't they worried it'll break?"

I rolled my eyes, and glared at my best friend from behind the TV. He was sitting on one of the bean bag chairs randomly placed around the den, with the the little grey and black box I had just brought over in his lap. He grinned at me, his dark green eyes sparkling with amusement.

"It's _s'posed_ to be really sturdy." I answered, turning back to what I was doing. It was difficult locating the cords I needed, then connecting them to the right jacks when all the cords, cables and wires were tangled up in one big mess.

"That would be the best way to test sturdiness; hand the equipment to you," he said thoughtfully.

I huffed, frustrated with the cord I had just lost for the fifth time in the past five minutes. "How in the world do you deal with this, Kyle?" I asked in frustration, unplugging everything.

"I don't." He said simply, shrugging his shoulders. "You're the only one I know of brave enough to dig through all that."

"Then _how_did it become this bad within the past three months?" I held up the big mess for emphasis.

He shrugged again, "I dunno." The doorbell rang and his eyes lit up, "Food's here!" He jumped up, dropped the box in the bean bag chair and was out of the room within a minute.

I sighed, resisting the urge to strangle him with the cords. It would ruin the wires and I wouldn't be able to test my uncle's latest masterpiece. That, and his parents were quite fond of him. They might just call the police on me. Would they convict me after they saw his shirt? Really. No one should be able to wear neon orange and green shirts and then sit on a pink bean bag chair. It assaults the eyes.

The smell of pizza and Chinese food wafted in from down the hall and I stopped thinking about killing my best friend. That would come after I devoured all his food.

I climbed out from behind the TV and dropped the big mess on the floor before reaching back and grabbing the ends that hadn't made it fully out. I sat down and started the ridiculously dull task of untangling the mess.

"Hey, I'm no Techie like you, but I'm pretty sure that those go behind the TV," Kyle set the boxes on the floor and sat down on the other side of the mess.

"I'm untangling them," I said as I set an HDMI cable aside. "Correction: _We're_ untangling them," I added as an afterthought. If I was reorganizing his entertainment system, he was going helping me sort out the cords.

"Wha?" he asked, a piece of pizza halfway to his mouth. I reached over and guided his hand back to the pizza box and lightly shook it until he dropped the piece of pizza, and handed him a napkin.

"The faster we get these untangled and back in their places, the faster we can get started with the testing," I went back to the mess. "You do want to test it, don't you?"

He immediately reached for the closest cord. "Are you kidding? Be one of the first people to play a game in Virtual Reality?"

~~~ Sera, Jack ~~~

'Have you ever played _Tales of Symphonia_ before?'

'In college. One of my classmates mentioned that it was her favorite game, and so I bought it for testing.'

'You mean because you liked her and wanted a common interest to talk about.'

'...'

'You know, for someone completely oblivious when it comes to flirting and innuendos, you certainly know quite a bit about reading into actions.'

'Some guy did the same thing to me last week. I only knew about his motives 'cause his girlfriend got mad and started a fight.'  
  
'Sera...'

'Hey, that was when you changed your major, right? After playing _Tales of Symphonia_? How many times did you play it?'  
  
'I played it many times, and yes, that was when I changed my major, but that is not what we're discussing now. You got in a fight?!'

'It could hardly be called a fight. She slipped and fell into a puddle when I side-stepped out of the way. What happened after, though, might be closer to a fight, but I'm not entirely sure what you call it when four angry high school girls try to tackle one...'

'Sera... Please don't tell me you-'

'Oh no, I didn't do anything. They all fell in the puddle as well.' ^_^

'...' *sigh*

~*~

A large pizza, three Chinese takeout boxes, and an hour later, I plugged the last cord in the last jack and wiggled out from behind the TV.

"There!" I said triumphantly as Kyle pushed the TV back into place.

I plugged in The Box, as I called it, and set it next to Kyle's Nintendo Chest. I reached for my backpack and pulled out a couple cords, a game case, and two VR Helmet thingies. They weren't that pretty to look at, but not much was expected from something still in its testing stage.

"So, does this equipment have a name?" Kyle asked as I plugged The Box into the Nintendo Chest.

"I dunno. I kinda stopped listening after Jack asked me to test something out for him. I just call it 'The Box.'"

"...Real creative there, Sera. What game are we playing?"

"_Tales of Symphonia._ An action RPG."

"Is it anything like _Tales of Solaria_?"

"Yeah, it's made by the same company," I handed one of the VR Helmets to him and entered the first game disc into the Nintendo Chest and turned it on. "Here, put this on."

"Aren't you testing it first?" he asked warily as he accepted the VR Helmet.

"It was designed so that multiple people could play it," I answered, putting my own VR Helmet on my head.

Kyle picked up the case and looked at the cover. "Hey, the chick with red hair looks kinda cool."

I looked over his shoulder at the cover, where he was pointing to a rather effeminate character with red hair, blue eyes and a round face. Zelos. "That's a dude," I left him staring open mouthed at the game cover while I turned everything to their proper settings.

I sat in my favorite black bean bag as the loading screen popped up on the blue/green visor. I heard Kyle sit on the bean bag chair next to mine, donning the VR Helmet himself.

"I take it you've played the game before?"

"Not really. Lia got to it first. I tried to watch but it's boring watching someone else play. I did get to play through the first dungeon though, and I did get to hear about her favorite characters." The title screen popped up in front of me. "Whoa!"

It was like it was really there, despite there being no background. The words just kind of floated in front of the TV a couple of feet off the ground. I reached out a hand to see if the words were actually there. My hand 'touched' the _'New Game'_ option (I didn't feel anything) and the title screen faded out while another screen faded in.

This time it was asking if I was playing multi-player or single. I reached out again and chose _'Multi-Player'_.

"This is getting frustrating, Sera. Why can't I see a- Whoa!"

"What?" I asked, whipping my head around to look at Kyle. The floating words followed and now they floated over Kyle's head. The words were the same as before, only there was a small _'Waiting on Player 2..._' just below them.

"It says I need to choose a character," Kyle explained.

"What're the options?" I asked. I was seriously interested in this. Did this mean that Zelos could be a part of the group from the beginning? Or that Kratos could stay with the group the entire time? Think of the possibilities!

"There's a kid with white hair and a blonde girl," he answered. "At least, I think it's a girl."

Only Genis and Colette? What about Lloyd and Raine? "Do you want to be a mage or... not?" I hesitated to classify Colette. I hardly knew her abilities, having always preferred the healer, mage and magic swordsman combo in my party. I always fought with Lloyd, not being able to stand how slowly anyone else moved.

"Not," he answered.

"Then the girl," I replied.

I saw him reach out to something in front of him and the resulting flash in my screen told me he had made his choice. I turned back to stare at the TV. The beginning animation was playing on it, but it quickly faded out. Er... my visor was fading to white, actually.

I don't remember the screen becoming pure white when I played.

"Once upon a time, there existed a giant tree that was the source of all mana," Kratos' voice came out of nowhere, startling me. "A war, however, caused this tree to wither away, and a hero's life was sacrificed in order to take its place. Grieving over the loss, the goddess disappeared unto the heavens," everything suddenly went black. "The goddess left the angels with the edict: 'You must wake me, for if I should sleep, the world shall be destroyed.' The angels bore the Chosen One, who headed towards the tower that reached up unto the heavens. And that marked the beginning of the regeneration of the world..."

I expected Raine to speak next, but nothing happened. I was left completely engulfed in darkness. I could no longer feel the bean bag under me, in fact, I couldn't tell whether I was sitting, standing, or even doing the Hokey Pokey. It was hard to tell anything when you could no longer feel your body.

Maybe The Box broke? I reached up to take the VR Helmet thing off, but I couldn't. My arms didn't move, no matter how much I willed them to.

I tried calling out, but I couldn't tell if my lips had moved, or if any sound had come out even if they had.

There! A discoloration in the black space! I focused on it as it grew from a tiny pinprick to something much taller than me. The shapeless blob slowly formed itself into the shape of a human, Fine lines were formed and I started to recognize it as color returned to the world.

It was Lloyd. He actually looked seventeen, instead of a kid who had just reached adolescence. His brown hair defied gravity as it normally did, I was examining his jacket with its overabundance of buttons when his eyes opened.

_'Huh? Wha-What's goin' on?'_He looked around in confusion, trying to figure it out. _'Where am I?'_Then he saw me. Anger clouded his face and he started shouting. _'Who are you? Where have you taken me? Where's Colette and everyone else?'_

Hey! Game characters weren't supposed to be aware of the player possessing them! What's going on?

_'If you've hurt them, I'll...'_he glared at me, reaching for his swords.

Wait, so he's allowed to move and I wasn't? That's so unfair! I want to move too!

"Lloyd Irving! Wake up!" Huh?

Lloyd suddenly rushed at me and I braced myself for impact.

"Lloyd!"

My eyes flew open when a chalk duster hit me square in the face. "Gyah!"

I staggered and my back hit the wall behind me. The buckets in my hands hit the wall as well, sloshing water all over my feet.

"...how _do_ you manage to sleep standing?" the disgruntled person in front of me asked. Her light blue eyes reflected my confused face, oddly absent of the wisps of hair that stubbornly escaped any and all attempts to be swept back.

"Professor Raine?" I asked. Yeah, that was the Professor. She was the only person who could get away with wearing so much orange. I looked around me at all the students who were turned around in their seats to look at me. Hadn't they just gotten out of class when the game started? "Is class over?"

She sighed and turned away, walking back to the front of the class. Nearly everyone's head turned to follow her, a couple people still glanced back at me every now and then. Wow, she really had this class whipped into shape. Must have been her disciplinary skills. "Nevermind. Let's have someone else answer the question. How about you, Genis?"

...So class _wasn't_ over?

Genis stood up at his seat near the front of the room. "Yes, Raine. Mithos, the hero, brought about the end of the Ancient War in the Holy Ground of Kharlan." Genis sat back down just as Raine reached the podium.

"Correct. Afterwards, Mithos, the hero, formed a pact with the Goddess Martel to seal away the Desians whom caused the war."

"But they've come back..." I meant to only say it to myself, but Raine's reaction meant that the entire class had heard it.

"We covered that in class last time, remember?"

No, Raine. I didn't. How in the world was I supposed to remember a class I never attended?

"When the Seal weakens the Desians reappear. Just like they have now."

"...I knew that," I said defensively. "I just... forgot."

Raine continued the lesson as if I had never butted in, "Today is the day of prophecy. It is a very important day, which the Chosen of Mana will receive an oracle from the Goddess Martel. Now, Chosen One... Colle."

...Colle? Not Colette?

"Uh.. yeah?" the blonde guy in the middle of the room hesitantly stood.

Hey! The Chosen is supposed to be a girl! Why is-Kyle! Did they make the Chosen male because the player was male? What about me?

I looked down at myself. Yup. Still a girl. That was nice.

"Tell us about the journey of world regeneration."

Kyle hesitated a bit before answering. "...It's a journey to seal the Desians. Upon passing the trials of the Goddess Martel, the Summon Spirits that protect the world awaken, and mana is restored."

Okay, how did he know all that? Had he played the game before? Was he holding out on me!?

"Correct. I suppose we should expect the Chosen himself to know the answer to that one," Raine said approvingly. Kyle sat down and Raine continued with her lecture. "Mana depletion is the cause of the current food shortages and droughts. It is said that this occurs because the Desians consume vast amounts of mana..."

_'Hey!'_Lloyd's voice, still angry mixed with a little bit of confusion, came out of nowhere and I nearly jumped. _'What's going on? Why am I back in the classroom?'___

Where was he? I swept the classroom with a glance and found no trace of the red clad swordsman.

_'Why isn't my body moving?'_Lloyd sounded frustrated.

Ugh. How long was this going to go on? Lloyd's voice was giving me a headache.

I decided that I had had enough when Lloyd started swearing.

_'Shut up, Lloyd!'_

My efforts were rewarded as peaceful silence filled my head once again. Who knew how annoying being schizophrenic could be?


	2. And Now the Male Protagonist

_~~Here ya guys go; another chapter. _

_Oh yeah, someone asked about 'Lloyd' being too manly for a chick name. So I looked it up (can't remember where, sorry!) and apparently there have been a few baby girls named Lloyd. So I've decided not to worry about it. That and I'm too lazy to go and think up a new name._

_I forgot the disclaimer for the last chapter, so I'll just put it in here._

_Disclaimer: I don't own ToS. If I did, I'd have let there be a way that you could choose to let someone other than Zelos die and we could have all those fluffy oyako moments with Kratos and Lloyd without losing the random items charmed from the chicks. I want to keep my Item Monkey!~~_

**CHAPTER 2: And Now the Male Protagonist**

_**"You can't change the past, but you can ruin the present by worrying about the future"**__**—Unknown**_

It wasn't everyday your best friend invited you to test out the latest gaming gear with her. Of course it _was_ the first gaming gear _ever_ to introduce virtual reality to the older games. Had I mentioned that my best friend had one of the coolest uncles ever?

Had I also mentioned that you should never accept _anything _she handed you without using extreme caution? I remembered the first time I had learned this lesson; in eighth grade, when the girls had been taken to the kitchens to bake cookies in school. It had almost been too good to be true when my best friend offered me the cookies she had baked herself.

I _should have_ been wary when I had caught her watching me carefully. I _should have_ refused when she had grinned like she always did when she was up to something. I _should have_ just thrown the cookies out when I had seen the other boys gag as they popped their friend's cookies in their mouths.

But I was a fool who had crush on his best friend.

I had eaten the cookies without a second thought.

I had ended up bedridden the next day and staying home the entire week until my skin was no longer a light shade of blue. Sera had been at least nice enough to bring all my school work to me and take it to school with her; though I was pretty sure, even now, that she had only been there to see the effects of her handiwork.

And so it was because of my previous mishaps with Sera that I really wasn't surprised to find that I had blacked out right after choosing my character and hearing an interesting speech by some guy about whatever was happening in the world.

The first thing that swam across my vision when I came to was a blackboard. Yes, everyone, a blackboard. Why, oh why was I back in school?

_'Oh, I don't find it that bad,' _a cheery girl's voice said to me. I nearly jumped out of my skin.

_'Wha-?'_ I was going to kill Sera when we saved and exited the game.

_'I find school very invigorating. I always learn new things and I get to see Lloyd, Genis and Professor Raine everyday as well.'_

_'Wait, what? Who are you?' _I asked the voice in my head. It was always nice to be able to name the voices in my head.

_'Oh, I'm sorry!_ _I should have introduced myself first! My name is Colette.'_

_ 'I'm Kyle,' _I barely had the time to wonder about where I was when I was called on.

_'Oh, that's us!' _Colette helpfully pointed out.  
_  
_I didn't know how to greet the teacher so I said "Uh... yeah?"

_'Stand up!' _Colette cheerfully guided me.

I stood up and looked up at the teacher. She was rather young looking, not quite what was expected of a school teacher, but had short, silver hair. She wore an orange jacket with a matching cape.

"Tell us about the journey of world regeneration."

_'The what?'_

_ 'It is a journey to seal the Desians. Upon passing the trials of__the Goddess Martel, the Summon Spirits that protect the world awaken, and mana is restored,' _Colette answered my question and I was able to relay it back to the teacher, or 'Professor Raine' as Colette called her.

"Correct. I suppose we should expect the Chosen himself to know the answer to that one," Raine said approvingly. I sat down and Raine continued with her lecture. Listening would be a good idea if I was to make it through the game. "Mana depletion is the cause of the current food shortages and droughts. It is said that this occurs because the Desians consume vast amounts of mana. The chosen's journey has two purposes--to revive mana as well as defeat the Desians. Now, for the next question-"

A bright flash of light interrupted the professor and I heard a _very_ familiar voice behind me.

"What the- What was _that_?"

I turned around and saw a girl standing at the back of the classroom. It was Sera, but it wasn't her. Her wavy hair, usually left down to fall over her shoulders, was sticking straight up and leaning slightly to the side. She was wearing a red jacket almost completely covered in buttons with gloves to match. A pair of jeans, unbuttoned at the top, were held up by suspenders. What shocked me the most, however, were the set of swords held up by two belts at her waist. Who was crazy enough to let her have swords!?

Children of all ages started chatting to each other excitedly around me.

"Settle down," Professor Raine instructed. Silence filled the room barely two seconds after. "It would seem that the time for the oracle has come. I will go and check on the chapel. Everyone, stay here and study on your own. Understood?"

A chorus of "Yes, Professor!" followed and she started running out the door.

_'It's the oracle!'_ Colette said excitedly. _'We have to go!'_

"Wait, Professor!" I called after her, standing up to follow. "I'll go as well."

Professor Raine stopped just outside the classroom door and turned to look at me. "No, Colle. If it is the oracle, the priests will come here for you. Wait here with everyone else," she turned and continued running.

"Sure, why not?" I answered. I felt like an idiot being the only one standing, so I sat down.

The kids around me moved to talk with their friends, leaving a pretty big space. It was nice of them to leave me to my own thoughts. I really needed to fiigure out what was going on.

"Lloyd!" A kid with long silver hair and blue clothes ran past my desk. The kid I didn't choose to play. My eyes followed him as he ran to the door and stopped Sera from leaving. I could tell by the way she rested her hands on the hilts of the swords that she didn't like the interruption. "Where are you going? Don't tell me you're sneaking out! Raine will get mad!"

"But I want to know what'll happen with the oracle," she answered. "It's always talked about, but they never tell what really happens."

"But my sister said to stay and study by ourselves." Ah. That would explain why they both had silver hair.

"...It's research."

The boy got mad, "That's just an excuse!"

Sera shrugged, turning back to the door, "An excuse is an excuse, right? Quit bein' so stuffy, Genis!" she said with a grin. Uh oh. I knew that grin. She was going to do something that I was likely going to get in trouble for. "You're going too, right? We're best buds, after all!"

They're _what?!_Nu-uh. I was Sera's _only_ male friend, courtesy of various stories told to her by Jack before she had entered middle school. She now couldn't bear to be anywhere near guys her age. It had even taken me a month to get her talking to me again.  
_  
_"Hey, Colle! Yer comin' too, right?" She looked at me expectantly, knowing that I wouldn't be able to say no. I nodded mutely, standing up and following her out the door. "See?" she said, clapping Genis on the shoulder as we walked out. "Dwarven Vow #4: Don't depend on others. Walk on your own two legs."

"Not the Dwarven Vows again. You always use those when you need an excuse..." Genis said, shaking his head.

"So where _are_we going?" I asked, walking on her other side as soon as we were clear of the school's door.

"Where else?!" She asked me as if I should have known. "The light!" Of course, where the shiny thing was. "Don't you want to go as well? You're directly involved."

"Yeah, but didn't the professor-"

"Research!" She practically yelled, waving her hands in the air. "I need to know what happens when you receive the oracle!"

"Wait!" We looked to our left to see a blonde man running towards us.

_'Father!'_ Colette said excitedly.

"Father?" I asked, not entirely sure what to make of this.

"Frank!" Genis acknowledged the man as he stopped in front of us, panting slightly.

"Thank goodness you're safe."

"Frank, what happened to everyone in the village?" Genis asked, obviously concerned about our fellow villagers. Was it generally not this quiet in the village?

"They're all hiding. The Desians invaded the village just a short while ago. Thankfully, no one was hurt. They passed through the village and headed for the temple."

"Why?! Iselia has a non-aggression treaty with the Desians!"

"You mean the one where they won't attack the village as long as the ranch is left alone?" Sera asked. She glanced at me and I realized she was doing it for my benefit.

_'Where's Grandmother?'_ Colette asked, sounding a little worried.

"Where's Grandmother?" I relayed the question myself, having decided that if I asked the same questions as Colette, I wouldn't look too out of place.

"Phaidra is in the temple preparing for the ritual," Frank looked at me with kind and concerned eyes, with a little bit of something else mixed in there. It bothered me greatly as it was leaning dangerously close to the pity category.

"She's in the temple? But... the Desians..."

"The priests are there with her. There's no need to worry."

The look on Sera's face plainly said that she didn't trust the priests to watch over a fish, let alone Phaidra.

"Now, Colle..." he looked at me, that pity-like expression showing even clearer than before. I really didn't know what he wanted to get across. As if sensing my confusion, Colette spoke up with more help for me.

_'Tell him not to worry, that we'll fulfill our duty as the Chosen.'_

I smiled reassuringly at him. "Don't worry. I'll fulfill my duty as the Chosen."

A proud grin spread across his face, "Good luck, Colle," he turned to the other two. "Lloyd. Genis. You two should go on home."

Yeah, he really shouldn't have said that. Sera crossed her arms over her chest and leaned on her left foot. She stubbornly glared at Frank.

"I'm not letting my friend go to the temple all by himself. I'm going with, no matter what anyone says."

"Me too," Genis chimed in.

"But..." Frank saw the look in Sera's eye and decided to give up. "Alright. Thank you," he fixed us all with a stern look. "I'll wait at the house. Come back _immediately_ if anything happens." With that, he walked off to a two-story house about a block away.

A big grin spread across Sera's face as Frank disappeared. "To the temple!" she cried as she linked her right arm with mine and draped her left arm across Genis' shoulders. She lead us around the school building and unhooked us as we approached the exit to the village, marked with a wooden arch.

Sera was the first through, but she stopped just outside of the gate, causing Genis and me to bump into her. I leaned around her to scold her about suddenly stopping, but her narrowed eyes, looking off into the distance, stopped me.

I looked down the path leading out of town. Coming around the bend several meters ahead of us was an old man. He slowly shambled down the path toward us.

"There's a monster," she finally said. Where? Behind the old man?

"I thought the northern region where the temple is located was a sanctuary! Why are there..."

"Maybe... a part of the trial?" Sera said thoughtfully. "It does involve battling, right?"

"Right." Genis nodded in confirmation, pulling one of those ball-and-cup games out of his pocket. What was he gonna do? Throw it around while Sera whacked at the thing? What was I gonna do?

I searched myself and found, hidden in the folds of the clothes I was wearing, two bladed rings. I pulled them out and held them uncertainly. What was I supposed to do with them?

_'You throw them!' _Colette giggled in the back of my head.

I sighed and looked up, searching for the monster Sera was talking about. She had unsheathed her swords and I was relieved to find that they were wooden. Nothing good could come from giving Sera swords.

I turned back to the old man, who was now a couple meters in front of us, and realized that he was no old man just as Sera charged. She slashed at it at the last second and chunks of rotted flesh went flying. Her sword style might be a bit choppy, but she was proficient enough.

_'Help Lloyd!'_ Colette urged me forward.

_'I cant. I might hit her!' _I didn't know how to use these things! What if I accidentally hit her? What if I hit a vital area? I wouldn't be able to live, knowing I had killed my best friend.

_'Trust Lloyd! He won't let anything happen to your friend!'_

I sighed, giving up on the argument. It was obvious that Colette had complete trust in the character that Sera had possessed. I found myself worried that if everyone trusted this person half as much as Colette, the entire world was doomed.

I barely had to think about throwing the rings when my arms swung out and the rings were spinning trough the air like frisbees towards Sera and the zombie. A very long two seconds later, the zombie was missing its head and I caught the rings like I had been doing it my entire life.

Sera paused and the zombie stumbled back and into the bushes, probably searching for its head. Sera sheathed her swords and rubbed the back of her neck.

"That was easy."

"Wow, Lloyd!" Genis exclaimed. "That was amazing!"

Sera grew a little uncomfortable at this, "Ah... well, I couldn't have done much without this..." She said, holding up her left hand. It was covered in bandages, but whatever was there was obviously important.

"Oh yeah, the exsphere!"

"Without this beauty, I wouldn't have been able to use my maximum strength," she pushed the bandages out of the way to reveal a blue marble mounted on a golden plate of sorts on the back of her hand. She pushed the bandages back into place and turned back to the path.

Genis and I followed closely behind as Sera turned the corner in front of us.

_'Lloyd's strong even without the exsphere!' _Colette cheerfully added.

I think I was starting to understand the relationship between Lloyd and Colette.

"There's another one!" Sera called out. We ran around the corner and Sera's swords were already in her hands as another zombie and something like a will-o'-the-wisp approached. "Let's go!"

"Wait, Lloyd!" Genis cried out.

Sera stopped herself from charging and glanced back at Genis.

"Leave the ghost to me; you take care of the zombie."

Sera nodded impatiently before charging at the zombie. Was she enjoying this? I shook it off and threw one of the rings... chakram, Colette just corrected me, I threw the second chakram just before the first returned to my waiting hand.

"Fireball!" I glanced over at Genis as he brandished his kendama at the ghost and three fireballs shot towards it. They engulfed it and the ghost shrieked as its essence was consumed.

The second chakram returned and I threw both at the same time at the zombie that Sera was still hacking at. The chakram hit directly in the chest at the same time and it stumbled away, probably to find some easier brains to pick up.

I caught the chakram, grinning like a mad man.

Booyah! I have become Xena: Warrior Princess!

...Wait.

_~~Just in case no one knew; I like reviews. They fuel me and encourage me to write. Review! And I will give you… virtual cookies! _

_No, not everyone likes cookies…_

_How about a link to a sketch of Sera outside of the game? Just ask and I'll send the link, but I can't help anonymous reviewers. If you want the sketch, you'll have to be signed in.~~_


	3. You're Just Jealous Cause the Voices Tal

_~~Sorry for the long wait guys. Here's another installment of Tales of Reality._

_I would like to take the time to thank PyrothTenka for being my beta. She is awesome._

_Disclaimer: I don't own Tales of Symphonia. Never have, will always want to.~~_

**CHAPTER 3: You're Just Jealous 'Cause the Voices Talk to **_**Me!**_

_**"I know! I'll transcribe the conversations between the voices in my head and send them to you!!!"**__**—David Borenstein**_

Kyle's POV

I pulled Sera back as Genis took the lead. We were currently heading towards the giant bright pillar of light in the distance, marching through a field of grass with cliffs on one side and the ocean on the other.

"What's going on?" I hissed, keeping her close with the grip I had on her arm.

"Well, we're currently headed towards the giant pillar of light, against our teacher's wishes, to go fulfill the oracle," she cheerfully answered.

I glared at her, "You know what I mean."

She returned my look with a cool gaze and I noticed that her blue and gold eyes were now brown. She held my gaze for a little longer and then sighed. "I can't explain everything now, but I'm pretty sure there'll be time later. As for now... Do the voices also talk to you?"

"A cheerful one named Colette. She's been very helpful."

Sera pouted. "Lucky. Lloyd's as angry as a bull and just as annoying. Just... listen to Colette and follow what she says for now." Her pout suddenly turned into a grin.

I stepped away, letting her go. That grin could mean anything. "What?"

"Nothing. Just admiring your dress." She said as she turned away, lacing her fingers behind her head and quickened her pace to catch up with Genis.

...What?

I looked down at the clothing I was wearing. I wore a cape, split down the middle in front and back over a simple dress. They were both white with blue trimming.

_'They're ceremonial robes that have been used by the Chosens of Regeneration for centuries. It's tradition that they be worn on the Journey of Regeneration.' _Colette explained.

I felt slightly better, but it still looked like I was wearing a dress.

_'I'm sorry.'_

__

'...What?'

'You're being forced to wear something that you don't want to. It's my fault that I agreed to wear the robes and promised Grandmother that I would wear them on the Journey!'

'No... It's okay. It's not like you knew that a guy would suddenly possess your body just as the Journey of Regeneration started.'

'But still...'

_'It's okay, Colette. Really, Sera was just taking a jab at me 'cause you and I get along better than her and Lloyd. Don't fret about it,' _I wasn't; at least until I got the chance to change clothes.

"Hey!" Genis called from ahead, at the base of a hill. I jogged to catch up and saw a set of stairs leading to the top where I could see a dome-like building emitting the very bright pillar of light. Did I mention it was bright?

"So, the light is coming from this temple..." Sera breathed in wonder.

"Then that means that an oracle is going to be conveyed. Colle's going to be the Chosen of Regeneration."

"Why does it have to be so bright?" I shielded my eyes as I looked up at the temple. A moment of awkward silence followed my comment.

Genis looked up at the temple in surprise, "Hey, there's a lot of commotion up there."

Sera and I looked up, listening for the noise that Genis had been able to hear before us, "You're right..."

Something stumbled to the top of the stairs and Sera took a step forward.

"Chosen One!" the person called out.

_'It's the Pastor!'_

He started to stagger down the steps, but lost his footing and fell. Sera ran forward and stopped the man halfway down. Genis and I ran up to where Sera was kneeling, holding the Pastor by the shoulders.

"Hey, are you all right?" she asked.

The Pastor struggled to sit up and look at me, "The Desians broke the non-aggression treaty and attacked the temple..." he paused to cough, "Chosen One... quickly... the oracle..."

I nodded. "I know."

"Be careful," he relaxed against Sera's arm and his eyes lost focus. "I regret that I will not... be able to pro...tect... the... Cho...sen." He fell limp against Sera's arms.

"Pastor!"

Sera just closed her eyes and shook her head, laying him on the ground.

"No!" Genis cried out. He started tearing up, but furiously wiped his eyes. I clapped him on the shoulder and Sera draped her arm over his shoulder and squeezed, giving him a sideways hug.

_'Poor Pastor...' _Colette's sad voice pulled me away from the moment and I could focus on the task at hand. _'We need to go to the temple!'_

Sera's head suddenly snapped up and she glared up at the temple. She started to go up the stairs but Genis called out to her.

"Lloyd! There are Desians in there!"

Sera stopped her ascent and turned to look at Genis, "We promised Frank that we'd accompany Colle to the temple. I am not about to stop here."

_'She's right. It's my job to accept the oracle on the day of Prophecy.'_

I repeated what Colette had said and started leading Genis up the stairs after Sera, "C'mon, Genis. We can't let him have all the fun."

Genis sighed in defeat, "I'm worried about Raine, so I'll come too."

_'Dwarven Vow #1: Let's all work together for a peaceful world,'_ Colette chimed up.

_'What's a Dwarven Vow?'_ I asked as we climbed the stairs.

_'They are the laws by which dwarves live.'_

_'Why would a bunch of humans know them?'_

__

'That's because Dirk is a dwarf!'

'Dirk?'

'Lloyd's father. They live in the forest west of the village, past the Human Ranch.'

"Run, Colle!"

I looked up when I heard my 'name' and saw that we had arrived at the temple. There was an older lady at the entrance, surrounded by a couple soldiers and a man with weird brown spikey hair.

"Lord Botta!" one of the soldiers yelled. The man with the weird hair looked behind him to the guy who had just yelled, "There he is!"

The leader turned completely around and glared at me, "Chosen One. Your life is mine!"

"You and what army, Desian?" Sera asked. So these were the desians...

"Desians?" one of the Desians sneered, "...Hahaha!" Or maybe not.

"What's so funny?" Genis asked.

"Well then," the other Desian grinned, "Die at the hands of the Desians you so hate. Get them!" They charged towards us and Sera pulled out her blades to meet them head on.

One charged directly at me, and I pulled the chakram out of their hiding place.

_'Use Ray Thrust. Focus your mana into the chakram and throw it.' _Colette instructed.

I jumped out of the way of the Desian's attack and did as Colette told me.

"Ray Thrust!" The chakram glowed slightly, and I threw it at the guy. It shot towards him, faster than before, and clanged as it hit him in the helmet. He stumbled to the side and before he could regain his balance, Genis hit him with Fireball.

He staggered back into the other Desian, who was trying to catch his breath, and they glanced at each other.

Sera stepped to my side a little out of breath. She glared at the Desians in front of us, holding her swords at the ready. I hoped that it was the adrenaline coursing through her that made her grin like she was enjoying the battles we encountered. That grin really creeped me out.

The ground shook and the Desians grinned at each other before running off while we focused on not falling over. I was able to noticed that the Botta guy had also disappeared before the ground shook again. A grunt from the stairs lead us to look behind us.

A huge head, about the size of an over ripe watermelon with beady eyes, rested on top of the body of a body builder. A helmet, with what appeared to be the horns from a boar attached to it, protected the large meatball of a head. One arm looked to be as big around as my waist. The man climbed the stairs, revealing more of his spandexed self and shaking the ground with every step he took.

We backed away as the towering figure reached the top steps. Genis clutched my cape nervously as Sera got ready to defend herself.

The man, who had to be seven feet tall, swung the large hammer in his left hand to his shoulder and the ball-and-chain in his right hand to land on the ground next to him, "Do not get in our way!"

The giant charged at us and I grabbed Genis before jumping to the side while Sera jumped to the other. The hammer landed in the spot where I had just been standing and the giant, with a little effort, picked the hammer back up to swing it at Sera.

Sera flew from behind the giant to the other side of the area. Sera!

"Lloyd!" Genis cried out as he pushed himself out of my arms and ran to her side. She picked herself up and was using her swords to get to her feet when a grunt behind me alerted me to the presence of the large thing that had knocked her over.

Colette shrieked as I jumped to the side, narrowly avoiding the loss of my head. I stumbled as I worked to keep myself from falling flat on my face while running from the giant.

"Fireball!"

I glanced back to see the giant batting at the various spots on his person that had burst into flame.

"Ray Thrust!" The attack hardly did anything, unless annoying the giant counted as something.

He charged at me again, and again, I started running like a chicken with its head cut off. I nearly stopped when I realized that I was running toward Sera.

"Demon Fang!" A large bolt of energy whizzed past me and hit the giant. He stumbled and fell forward, the displaced air launching me into the fence behind Sera and knocking the air out of me.

I grasped the fence to keep my self from falling over, getting a nice view of the cliff I had just narrowly avoided plummeting down. The grass at the bottom looked really soft, but I still didn't like the idea of falling.

An "ugh!" told me that Genis had also been swept off his feet.

Which only left one person to fight with the giant. Sera!

I turned around, trying to catch my breath at the same time as I searched for my friend. Genis was lying on the ground a few feet away and Sera was jumping out of the way of another swing of that annoying hammer.

I stumbled to Genis' side, my breath slowly coming back to me. He was picking himself up as I kneeled beside him.

"This guy... is really strong," he gasped out.

_'Lloyd!'_ Colette's voice rang out in my head.

I looked over my shoulder and gasped, trying to get to my feet. Sera had just jumped out of the way of the hammer again, but hadn't seen the ball-and-chain come out from the other side.

"Se-"

"Lloyd!" Genis was also struggling to stand up next to me.

I closed my mouth and didn't finish what I was going to say. She was Lloyd to everyone here. I couldn't call out to her like I normally would.

Time slowed to a crawl as Sera finally registered the fast approaching giant ball of iron coming at her head and turned to look in its direction. Her eyes widened and of all the times that my friend could freeze up and lose all brain functions, it had to be then.

I was finally able to wrench my knees from the floor and start running forward just as Sera started to bring her swords up to block, but I knew it was too late for both of us. Nevertheless, I pumped my legs as hard as I could.

I watched, my heart falling to the very pits of my stomach, as the ball-and-chain made its agonizingly slow arc through the air towards my best friend.

A flash of purple obstructed my vision and there was a _clang_.

I skidded to a stop right behind Sera. I grabbed her arm and pulled her back against my chest in a quick hug, confirming that she was still alive.

"Who...?" she was shaken up and a little bewildered, but she would be fine.

I looked up at the man who had knocked the ball-and-chain away. His back was to us, so all I could really see was the purple cape that was cut in the same fashion as the one on my back and the messy auburn hair that fell just above his shoulders.

I glanced past him to see the giant that had just been knocking us around like croquet balls scrambling to get back on his feet. My eyes flew back to the back of the man standing in front of us.

Was the difference between a bunch of kids and one man that great in this world?

He glanced over his shoulder at Sera and me and looked us over coolly with crimson eyes.

"Get out of the way."

_~~Before I forget, I'll mention that there are now very short bios on Sera and Kyle in my profile for anyone who's interested._

_Review incentive is a pic of Colle.~~_


	4. There's Always a Bigger Fish

_~~Next chappie! _

_PyrothTenka decided she didn't like the skits, so I took them out for this chapter. Tell me if you want them back or if you hated them anyways, so it's good like this._

_Anyways, I don't own ToS, please leave a review, and enjoy the chapter!~~  
_

**CHAPTER 4: There's **_**Always **_**a Bigger Fish**

_**"Excellence is not a singular act, but a habit. You are what you repeatedly do."**__**—Shaquille O'Neal**_

Sera POV

I hadn't really stopped watching my cousin play because it was boring. I just looked over her shoulder while she was watching a Z-skit with Kratos and Lloyd and made an off-hand comment, asking if Kratos was Lloyd's father. All I did was point out various likenesses between them when she fervently denied it and then she had the gall to banish me from the room. She came out crying several days later, saying she hated me for ruining the plot.

She spent so much time playing it that I had barely started playing the game before the system was ready for me. I couldn't even remember where I was when Jack had entered the room with the box he always handed the games and accessories to me in.

My cousin had pretty much told me the plot but I hadn't been paying too much attention as it mostly consisted of "Kratos this" and "Zelos that." I think I remember something about a "regal character" as well, but why would a King or Prince be sent to prison?

That was probably the reason why I was so shocked to see how easily Kratos could knock down that giant when Demon Fang had only made him stumble. I had thought that it was the accumulated exhaustion from everyone fighting their way to the temple and then fighting those pseudo-Desians right after climbing all those stairs in the game.

That hadn't been the case at all. I was perfectly fine before we fought the pseudo-Desians, and my breathing was only slightly heavier than normal when the giant had shown up.

I had been jumping around as fast as I could when the giant had decided to play Whack-a-Lloyd after Kyle and Genis were knocked to the side. I hadn't realized that he wasn't as stupid as the player assumed until I had heard Genis calling and saw the iron ball coming at me.

The freak had been smart enough to attack me with the ball-and-chain while I was preoccupied with the hammer! I had been so shocked that I could only stare stupidly as the weapon came at me.

I felt so shamed, letting myself get tricked like that, but that was nothing compared to when I heard Kratos say that line, looking at me like I was nothing.

"Get out of the way."

His words cut into my pride. The fury that flowed through me was so heated that I barely registered Kyle's arms around me, pulling me away from the auburn-haired man.

Kratos turned back to the giant and ran forward to engage him in battle.

"Sera, are you alright?" Kyle's frantic whisper pulled me out of my reverie.

I roughly shoved him away and picked up the wooden swords I had dropped when he had grabbed me, "I'm fine." I shook my head to chase away the lingering feelings of shock.

"Sera..." Kyle wouldn't let it go.

"Not now, Kyle. We have a battle to fight," I said, sounding far colder than I meant to.

I turned back to the big beefy Bag o' Meat that Kratos was currently keeping far away from us and sent a Demon Fang their way before charging in.

Genis' Fireball spell flew past me just before I reached them and the Bag o' Meat caught on fire for the second time today.

"Ray Thrust!" A glowing chakram flew over my head and hit the giant on the shoulder, one of the spots that had been burned by Genis.

Kratos sent a brief glance my way as I ran up next to him and focused my attacks on the burned clothes at the Bag o' Meat's side. My swords couldn't cut, but they were great for bludgeoning.

I was forced to take several jumps back as the Bag o' Meat decided to focus his attacks on me. Come on! Kratos was the one breaking skin! What did I do to make him so mad?

Kratos jumped out of the way as the Bag o' Meat decided to start another round of Whack-a-Lloyd. This time, I kept careful watch on that ball-and-chain in his other hand.

"Fireball!" Genis' voice wasn't the only one I heard as two sets of Fireball flew past me, one far to my left and the other close enough on my right side that I could feel the heat on my cheek.

"Ray Thrust!" The constant stream of chakram spinning in and out of my peripheral vision was interrupted by the tech as one of the spinning rings whizzed over my head and hit the Meat Bag in the head.

The ring didn't do much damage, as it hit the helmet, but it did make him stagger.

I grinned to myself as I jumped back once more, "Demon Fang!"

The meat bag stumbled back further.

"Fireball!" Genis' spell hit him and the freak staggered back, hitting the fence behind him.

"Demon Fang!" The bolt of energy from Kratos, which I was unhappy to note was bigger than mine, broke the fence and sent the Big Bag o' Meat over the edge of the cliff.

"I can't believe I lost to a bunch of kids!" I heard him yell as he fell.

"Isn't one of us like, thirty-five?" Kyle asked as he and Genis stepped up next to me.

"Nah, he's gotta be forty, at least."

Hey, the head priestes- er... Colette's Grandmother... What was her name? Phaidra! That was it! Apparently I was standing between Phaidra and the stairs, where Botta and the pseudo-Desians had been hiding from the fight.

"I never thought you'd show up," Botta cursed and turned to his men. "Retreat for now!" They turned tail and fled down the stairs.

"This guy's incredibly strong!" Genis muttered next to me.

I blinked and looked down at him. I followed the direction of his gaze to Kratos.

"You know," Kyle began, "you said the same thing about the giant down the cliff there... Maybe you need a fresh batch of perspective cooked up for you."

I sighed and rolled my eyes, "There's _always_a bigger fish."

"...Is everyone alright?" Kratos asked, looking us over. Genis was unharmed and Kyle and I were out of breath, but no one was injured. "Hmm... no one seems to be hurt."

Kratos turned towards Phai- light just glinted off his hand! What was it? What was it? Ooooo...

"An exsphere..." I breathed to myself.

_'...He has an exsphere?' _Oh, Lloyd had come back.

_'Apparently.'_

__

'And he wears it out in the open...'

Phaidra stepped forward and addressed Kratos, "How can I ever thank you for saving the Chosen?"

Kratos looked at Kyle. "I see... so this boy is the next Chosen."

Kyle straightened up, snapping his fingers. "That's right! I gotta go accept the oracle!"

...Had he seriously just forgotten our purpose for being here?

He hesitated slightly before going on, "I'll proceed to undergo the trial now."

I blinked in surprise, "Trial?" Wasn't that the reason why Colette had to fight all those monsters before releasing the seals?

"The monsters, I assume," Kratos answered. He turned to look at the temple. "An evil presence radiates from inside this chapel."

"Yes, that is correct," Phaidra confirmed Kratos' thought. "The chosen is to receive judgment from heaven. But the priests that were to accompany her fell at the hands of the Desians."

"Then I'll take the job on." Ha! I just beat the mercenary to offering my help!

"Lloyd?" Phaidra looked at me funny and Kratos' eyes widened just the smallest bit. "...I would be uneasy with just you."

"...Your name is Lloyd?"

I cocked my head to the side and narrowed my eyes as I looked at Kratos. "Yeah, but isn't it rude to ask for someone's name before offering your own?"

Kratos stared at me for a second, as if deciding whether or not to share his personal information. "...I am Kratos, a mercenary. As long as you can pay me, I'll accept the job of guarding the chosen." While the offer was directed at Phaidra, Kratos had held my gaze the entire time.

I didn't look away from him either, but I heard Phaidra sigh, "...Under the circumstances, I have no choice. Please, protect my grandson."

Kratos abruptly broke our staring contest to look at Phaidra. Ha! I won! "It's a deal then."

Wait, what? "Hey! I'm goin' too!"

I stepped forward and looked at Phaidra, daring her to stop me. There was no way that I was going to stay out here while Kyle had all the fun! I wanted to figure out how the Sorcerer's Ring worked!

"Lloyd," I turned my gaze to Kratos, who was scrutinizing me again. "You'll only get in the way. Be a good girl and wait here."

My eye twitched. The last person who told me to be a 'good girl' found themselves hog-tied and locked in a closet with the _Telletubbies_ soundtrack on repeat for the better part of three hours.

I straightened up and kept my face neutral as I answered him, "Right. I'ma just follow you on my own, then."

An amused smile flickered across Kratos' face, "You're a stubborn kid," he turned around and headed towards the temple. "Fine, do as you wish."

I grinned triumphantly and draped my arm around Genis' shoulder, "C'mon, Genis!"

Genis looked up at me surprised, then put his hand to his forehead and shook his head. "I knew you were going to say that."

"Of course."

"This isn't a field trip, you know," Kratos called back to us.

Genis and I speed-walked to catch up, slowing down as we reached Kratos just inside the door.

_'Okay, Lloyd. I can't handle doing all this_and_being yelled at by you, so how about we call a truce for the time being?'_

__

'Not until you tell me what's going on!'

Darn it! Lloyd was so much more agreeable in the game! But then, no one had possessed his body, so that might be working against me.

_'After the temple. It'll be easier then.' _

_'...Fine. But then you're telling me everything!'_

I nodded in response, keeping my eyes on the wide stairs as they passed under our feet. I had a terrible habit of falling down them at the most inopportune moments. _'Sera.'_

_'Huh?'_

_'I don't like being called you. Call me Sera.' _I walked down the stairs just inside the temple and stopped in the middle of the front room.

In the game, this room had looked like it could hold ten people semi-comfortably. But the room I was currently standing in was twenty feet in diameter, staircases that all four of us could comfortably walk up abreast lead to the other areas of the temple. Huge pillars stood between each of the stairs

I whistled in appreciation, "So this is what the inside of the temple looks like."

Kyle looked a little troubled as he stopped beside me.

"Colle, you've been in here many times, right?" Genis asked him.

Kyle nodded, distractedly, "Yeah, but it's different today."

"I feel the presence of monsters," Kratos said right behind me. I jumped about a foot in the air and turned to him. "Don't let your guard down." Why was it that that last part sounded like it was directed at me?

"Yes, sir," I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes as I turned to continue on.

"Wait. Lloyd..."

I stopped and turned back to Kratos.

"Are your sword techniques self-taught?"

I never thought about that. _'Lloyd, _are _your techniques self-taught?'_

__

'Yeah, does it matter?'

'Not to me.'

I nodded to answer Kratos' question, "Yup."

Kratos reached into his pack and pulled out a book. He held it out to me and I took it without thinking. The book was about an inch thick, it's leathery green cover worn with use. I flipped it open to a random page and saw a couple of diagrams of someone swinging a sword, small paragraphs with arrows pointing to certain points, like the knees or the wrist, dotted the page.

"What..." I looked up at Kratos for an explanation.

"If you are going to use a sword, then at least learn the basics," he raised an eyebrow. "You want to protect the Chosen, don't you?"

I could only glare at him as he walked past me, towards the middle staircase.

_'Humph! He thinks he knows so much!'_

_'Seeing as he is a mercenary and travels around the world fighting for a living, he probably does, Lloyd.' _Keeping Lloyd from jumping out of my head and attacking Kratos was helping me not get too mad at the mercenary.

I flipped to the first page of the book and climbed the stairs behind Genis as I started reading. I smiled to myself as the book started explaining which end of the sword was the best end to hold and why. At the bottom of the page was a broad sword, all the important parts labeled.

_'You're_reading _it?' _Lloyd asked, like he thought I was crazy or something.

_'What? You didn't think Kratos just gave it to me for safe keeping, did you?'_

__

'No, but you're going to listen to him? I thought you didn't like him either.'

_'I _don't _like him, but it's better tha-'_

My conversation with Lloyd was cut off as I ran into the sealed door. I was repelled and stumbled back to land on my butt at Kratos' feet. Genis and Kyle snickered as I rubbed my head and picked myself up.

I wobbled a bit as I got to my feet and the room spun slightly, but I was virtually unharmed.

_'Are you okay?' _Lloyd asked me, worriedly.

_'Yeah, just trying to decide which was more painful; walking into the wall or hitting Kratos' knee when I fell.' _I picked up the book and decided that it would be safest to leave it in my bag until later. I leaned against the wall while the room stopped spinning.

"It's sealed," Kratos simply stated.

"I noticed," I grumbled to myself.

"The Sorceror's Ring should open it," Kyle said thoughtfully.

"Let's go get it then," I said as I pushed myself off the wall. The spinning had finally stopped and I could hopefully walk without running into any more walls.

"Wait," Genis said. "Where is it?"

Kyle thought for a moment, probably asking Colette where it was, before shrugging. "Sorry, Genis. I don't know where it is."

"Then it's a Treasure Hunt!" I grinned excitedly as I turned and walked down the stairs without waiting for anyone else.

I didn't miss the shudder that went through Kyle's body before I turned. He seemed to be under the impression that I was going to get him in trouble whenever I grinned. I kept telling him that I only grinned when I found something fun to do. It wasn't my fault that he kept getting caught.

Now, which way should I go? I looked left and right, trying to decide which direction wouldn't lead me to the dead end. I eyed the stairs to my right, but quickly changed my mind when I heard the skittering of a creature with quite a few feet.

I twisted around and practically jumped up the stairs to my left.

"Don't get too far ahead," Kratos warned me.

I stopped at the top of the stairs and turned to look at him as I folded my arms across my chest stubbornly. "I'm waiting."

I watched as Genis and Kyle started climbing the stairs behind Kratos. I rolled my eyes and turned my attention back to the corridor in front of me. It was pretty much empty, lit by the sun filtering through the holes in the ceiling. I could see cobwebs in the corners where the light touched.

Something skittered across the path and I yelped, jumping back. I didn't land on the stairs, thankfully, but within the space of half a second, Kratos had jumped the rest of the stairs, stood in front of me with his sword out, searching for the reason I had yelped and Kyle was at my side. It was amazing how fast old people could move when properly motivated.

The thing that caused me to yelp skittered through one of the shafts of light and I sighed in relief, "Oh, it's just a rat."

Kyle raised an eyebrow. "You yelped because a rat ran across your path?"

"I thought it was a spider."

Kyle sighed in frustration. "That's it. We're starting a point system."

"A what?"

"To decide whether or not you're really a girl. I mean, genetically speaking, you're a girl, but how can we really tell you're not just a boy stuck in a girl's body?"

I raised an eyebrow, "Because _I_ know I'm a girl?"

"Your opinion doesn't count. You're the subject in question," Kyle stated as I walked around him to follow Kratos and Genis down the corridor.

"Genis, please tell Colle that I'm a girl," I sought help from the silver-haired boy walking in front of me.

"I dunno, Lloyd. You don't really hang out with the other girls in the class and I don't think I've ever seen you wear a skirt or dress," Genis said thoughtfully.

"Guys are much more fun to play with than girls, and skirts get in the way when fighting," I defended myself as Kyle caught up with me.

Kyle rolled his eyes, "Fine. Have it your way. But I'm still keeping track of the boyish vs. girlish things you do."

"Fine," I said, giving in. It wasn't like he was going to stop anytime soon. "What's the tally so far?"

"We're starting with when we arrived, so you have one Girl Point for getting scared by a small creature that scurried along your path, but you have three Boy Points. First, you fight with swords. Second, you really fought that guy out there with gusto, and finally, you were _relieved_ that it was a rat, one of the creatures most feared by girls."

My response was cut off by something hissing behind us. I froze, not wanting to find out what had snuck up behind us. Kyle glanced back, then at me.

"Please don't tell that it's what I think it is..." I pleaded to him.

"Okay, then I won't tell you about the weird half-spider/half-beetle monster about to jump on your back."

"Yipe!" I swiveled on the spot and hid behind Kyle. It was indeed a gross mix between a spider and a beetle. To my chagrin, it was more spider than beetle. What was even worse was that was that it could easily chew my knees off from where it crawled.

"I suppose you deserve a Girl Point for that."

"S... shut up and start attacking!"

"Hey, I'm a mid-range fighter. You, however, are close-range. Now go and say 'hi' to the nice spider-beetle!" Kyle said as he pushed me in front of him.

I unsheathed my swords, grumbling about how unfair guys were, and got ready to fight the spider/beetle thing. It brandished one of its mandibles at me and I yelped again, only this time I started bashing it like crazy.

When my adrenaline spike wore down and I was assured that the spider-beetle was dead, I stepped back, breathing hard.

"Not bad," Kyle congratulated me with a clap on the shoulder.

"Yeah, but Genis and Kratos are now really far ahead," I said, indicating the empty hallway behind him. I started jogging and called back to him, "Oh yeah, Girl Point for hiding behind a girl during battle!"

Kyle only sighed as we jogged to catch up to the Symphonian half of our group.

I found it odd that while Kyle was jogging in front of me, the rustling of something moving followed behind me. I looked over my shoulder and started running. Kyle was surprised when I passed him up, but one look over his shoulder and he was running too.

Three spider-beetles were pursuing us. It was bad enough that they outnumbered us, but these ones were twice as big as the one I just bludgeoned to death!

"There's always a bigger f-ack!!" My momentum was suddenly interrupted as I ran head-long into something big and soft enough for me to know it wasn't a wall.

I fell back, but luckily whatever it was I ran into grabbed my shoulder and steadied me. I looked up and Kratos was glaring at me, or just looking. One never could tell with him. I suddenly got a face full of purple when Kyle ran into me and knocked me into the mercenary.

Ow. Kratos' sword dug into my kidney while Kyle was... doing whatever he was doing. If things kept going on like this, I was going to look like a pug by the end of the temple.

"Colle! If you do not get off of me _right now,_ so help me, I will run you through with Kratos' sword!" I finally yelled in frustration.

The pressure on my back was instantly removed and I was able push myself away from Kratos. I winced as my side throbbed with pain, but I decided to ignore it as the hissing from the spider-beetles told me that our pursuers had caught up.

I turned around, drew my swords and got ready to attack with Kratos and Kyle.

~*~

"Why do they keep targeting me?" I asked no one in general as I wiped green gelatin off my swords for the third time in the past half hour.

Those slime things weren't tough so much as annoying. I had to ignore their Jell-O-like bodies and attack the thing in the center. Or 'core' as Kratos called them. It was a lot harder done than said.

The core roamed freely throughout the gelatinous body and sword swipes slowed considerably once breaching the 'skin'. It was truly annoying, hearing the swish of the sword swiping through the air, the _splork_ of sword hitting Gelatinous blob and then the tug of sword practically stopping in its tracks.

I had two choices: hack away at the Jell-O until I could hit the core, or slice through with one sword and hit with the other while the core ran from the first. The first choice was far messier and consumed more time, so I chose the second. I was successful about 60 percent of the time, but it worked.

"The blood of the infant Spider you killed earlier is still on your blades," Kratos explained from my left, sheathing his own sword after wiping it on one of the non-bloody parts of a dead Spider. "The monsters are attracted to its scent."

_'...What?'_ Lloyd asked in confusion.

_'He means that the blood from the baby Spider-thing I killed earlier is making me smell like injured prey. Something that hungry monsters love to munch and crunch on.'_

I glared at the blood stains on my swords. It wasn't like I _hadn't_ tried to clean them off. The blood just seeped into the wood and wouldn't come off no matter how hard I rubbed.  
_  
_Kratos lead the way, followed by Kyle and Genis, and then me as we walked down a flight of steps. Didn't they lead to the room with th- oh yes. There were the holes in the see-through jade colored floor; only there were more than nine.

There were _sixteen_ holes and the ground below wasn't just the simple path that split in two and then converged to lead up to the Sorceror's Ring either. It was a maze of paths without railings or walls to stop you from falling into the darkness below.

I had just decided that the jade platform was about the size of a baseball field when Kratos reached the bottom step. He stepped off the stairs in full confidence and the rest of us followed, cautiously testing the first step onto the platform before deciding it was safe.

A glint of light caught my eye and I walked to the edge of the platform. I leaned over the railing that reached my hip. "Hey, I think it's the Sorceror's Ring!"

Genis joined me on my left. "I bet it is."

I leaned over further to get a better look. The ring itself was on a pedestal in the middle of a dais a meter or so above the level below us. I followed the stairs with my eye and leaned even further over so I could see the point that the path entered the maze.

"Urk!" I found myself being pulled back rather roughly, and by the feel of the fabric choking me, I was being pulled back by the white ribbons that ran through my collar. Why did Lloyd even have those?!

I rubbed my neck as I turned to glare at the person causing me harm, "What the-"

"If you do not stop letting your enthusiasm control your actions, you will find yourself dead," Kratos warned me as he let go of the ribbons.

I pulled them away and threw them over my shoulder, sticking my tongue out at him as his attention focused on the ring a level below us. I knew I hated Kratos for a reason.

_~~I've decided that it's bothersome drawing something for every chapter (mostly cause that is what's causing chapter delays), so I'll just post the URL for the ToR Album in my profile, and you guys can look at things there. New pics will be announced.~~_


	5. The Temple Finished

_~Finally! Sorry for the long wait. I was studying up on how to improve my writing and got a little too into the 'analyze other writers' part… but on the bright side here's an update!~_

**CHAPTER:5 The Temple Finished**

_**"We are the people our parents warned us about." —Jimmy Buffett**_

"Urk!"

I turned around when I heard Sera choke just in time to see her turn and glare at Kratos, who was holding the ribbons that ran through her collar in his hands.

"If you do not stop letting your enthusiasm control your actions, you will find yourself dead," He warned her as he let go of the ribbons and turned away.

I bit back the chuckle that threatened to escape when Sera stuck her tongue out at Kratos after tossing the ribbons back over her shoulder.

_'Hey, what's that?' _Colette asked me.

_'What's what?' _I asked as I turned around.

_'Those rocks.'_

My eyes caught a pile of rocks near one of the holes and I walked towards them. I would have just ignored them, but they felt different from the other piles of rocks in the temple.

I kicked at one of the rocks, but they didn't budge an inch. That was definitely weird. "Hey!" I called, turning back to the group. Everyone turned to look at me as I stepped towards them. "I think there's someth-"

"Look out!" Kratos suddenly yelled, running towards me. Sera started running a millisecond after while Genis started casting a spell.

I was puzzling out their actions when I was suddenly flying through the air, my side screaming at me in pain. I cried out as I landed hard on the ground several feet away. My vision blurred and I had to close my eyes as I caught my breath.

"Hey! That's my friend ya just hit!" I heard Sera yell at whatever it was that hit me.

_'Are you alright?' _Colette asked me worriedly.

_'W-what happened?'_

_'The rocks turned into a Golem and attacked. I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have pointed them out to you!'_

_'Don't worry. I don't think there was any permanent damage done,' _I comforted Colette as I picked myself up. Oh, that hurt!

My arm was pulled away from my side and a hand was placed on my wound. I opened my eyes and saw Kratos, eyes flickering between my side and the Golem, as big as the giant we fought earlier, that was trying to catch Sera as she ran around it, pausing here and there to throw a Demon Fang.

"First Aid." Kratos finally muttered. My side tingled and the pain left my body.

I opened my mouth to thank Kratos when the tingling faded, but he was already gone and charging the Golem. I straightened up as Kratos engaged the Golem, looking for the chakram I had dropped when I was hit.

I found them several feet away, near the edge of one of the holes in the ground. I glanced down it when I bent over to pick up my weapons, and was surprised to see a couple of spiders patrolling the walkway underneath. Sera was not going to like that.

I turned back to see the person I was just thinking about jump back as the Golem's fisted hands crashed down, almost on top of her. Hmmm, Sera might have been on the right track with her thought earlier.

Why was it that she was the one targeted? Why wasn't it after Kratos? He was doing far more damage with his sword and magic techniques.

I ran forward, deciding to leave it and not worry about things as they were and just fight. Sera was the one that did the thinking and interpreting. I just had to decipher what she concluded and hope I could follow her thought process as she explained it.

The golem stiffened as I ran up to it and curled up on itself, forming a cube slightly taller than me. It stopped moving and everyone relaxed, putting their weapons away.

"You okay?" Sera asked me as we gathered around the cube.

"Yeah, I'm f-" My foot caught on something and I stumbled towards the cube.

"Colle!"

I tried to grab the cube to steady myself, but it was a lot lighter than I thought and it was pushed forward as I landed flat on my face.

_'Oops...' _Colette's voice swam through my head as I looked up to see the cube gone.

"Where...?"

"Down the hole." Sera answered as she offered her hand to me.

"Oh no." I hit my forehead as I grabbed her hand. The cube had probably been something important and I had just lost it. Great.

"I get it."

I looked up at Genis, dropping my hand from my face. He and Kratos were looking over the edge of the hole where I assumed the cube had fallen.

"Get what?" I looked over the edge and saw a pathway. I didn't see the cube, but a part of the path looked like it had the same designs.

"In just a moment it'll probably..." Genis looked around the platform before his eyes fell on another pile of rocks that were starting to move, "see, there it is."

The rocks formed into another golem and it started wandering aimlessly around the platform. Everyone pulled out their weapons as it caught sight of us and started bumbling forward.

"Now, let's take care of it and drop it down below!"

Sera and Kratos both ran forward closely followed by Genis and me.

"Please tell me that was the last one." I said, wiping the sweat off my forehead as I put the chakram away. We had just finished fighting what had to be fifteen golems.

"I don't see any more of them..." Genis answered, looking around.

It was true. The platform looked much less ancient now that there were no more big piles of rocks on it.

Kratos and I (being the 'manly men in tights' Sera described us as) pushed the final block in the direction Genis indicated. Evidently, Lloyd could not be trusted with such a thing. I pondered over the multiple meanings behind it as I pushed the last block down the last hole.

"You know," Sera began as we descended to the next level, "if someone decided to animate all these golems at once, they'd probably be able to conquer the world."

"I knew it! You _are_ making plans to take over the world!" I accused her as I stepped off the stairs behind Kratos and stepped to the side.

"Only secret ones," she answered with a wink, jumping the last stair. She stepped out of the way for Genis and looked at the two paths we could take. They were at either side of the platform, and the pedestal could be seen.

"So which one do we take?" I muttered to myself.

"It doesn't matter which, they both lead to the Sorcerer's Ring," Sera answered, heading towards the closest path.

I looked to Genis and Kratos. Genis shrugged and shook his head while Kratos looked like he was trying to forget we were here.

Now that I thought about it, I had to feel somewhat sorry for Kratos. Here was a thirty-five year old man who was just trying to make some money by escorting a teenager through a temple, and the teenager's immature friends decide to tag along because they were bored.

"Chosen."

I was pulled out of my thinking by Kratos, who was standing at the first path and looking back at me. Genis was several meters in past him, and I could see Sera nearly at the end now.

"Sorry!" I called as I jogged to catch up. I passed Kratos and slowed down to walk briskly to catch up to Genis. The paths weren't all that narrow, but I still didn't want to fall into the dark abyss that lay on either side of the path.

At one point, a part of the path had crumbled leaving a walkway that was slightly thicker than a balance beam. I didn't doubt Sera being able to pass it, what with her joining the Gymnastics Club last semester.

_'What's wrong?' _Colette asked me as I hesitated at the start.

_'I just have this terrible fear of heights...' _I gulped, and shortly thought about turning back. The thought was cut short as I glanced behind me and found my escape route blocked by Kratos.

So I inched my way across, ever mindful of the looming abyss under me, and the possibility of falling. A rock rolled under my foot when I was almost across and I nearly fell in, if not for Kratos pushing me to the thicker path just in time.

I would have stayed on the ground forever if Genis hadn't come back to pull me up and towards the Sorcerer's Ring excitedly. Apparently Kratos had been the only witness to my fall.

We shortly joined Sera at the foot of the stairs and made our short way to the very important ring.

Sera, Genis and I crowded around the ring's pedestal excitedly. Genis' head barely poked over the edge, but he was still excited by what he could see. The ring floated about half a foot, slowly spinning in its spot.

"Is this the Sorceror's Ring? I've heard about it before. It's a holy artifact of the Church of Martel!"

I glanced at Sera, and was not surprised to see the gleam of interest in her eyes. She had always been interested in figuring out how things worked and she had been known to take various things apart once getting in trouble for leaving the school's security offline.

She reached out to pick up the Sorcerer's Ring, but Kratos blocked her. "Only the Chosen may remove the Sorcerer's Ring from its place of rest."

Sera twisted her wrist out of Kratos' grip and glared at him, probably ready to try to reach for it again until Genis spoke up.

"Yeah, I think I remember something about it in one of Raine's books. The Sorcerer's Ring's Pedestal has a seal on it that can only be broken by the Chosen. It's to deter thieves."

Everyone looked to me expectantly and I reached forward to claim the ring. I half expected it to reject me, but nothing happened as my hand closed around it.

I hesitated to pull my hand back. Would it be like an Indiana Jones movie and sand would suddenly fill the room? Would there be any huge rolling boulders to avoid? I tensed myself to jump out of the way should anything suddenly shoot out of the wall and pulled my hand back.

Nothing happened.

I sighed to myself and handed the ring to Sera, leading the way back down the stairs.

"Five Gald says she either gets bored of it or ends up catching something on fire within ten minutes."

"It's _Lloyd. _I give her five minutes, tops."

"Three."

"Two."

"...Oops."

Genis and I both looked away from each other and up at Sera. She was grinning nervously and backing away from Kratos as he glared at her. It didn't take me long to find the black mark that marred his purple cape as Sera backed away from him in the direction we were headed.

I shrugged at Genis, our bet now completely null and followed behind them.

_'Have you and Genis made bets on Lloyd before?'_

_'Yup! Genis wins a lot, though. I guess that's because they're best friends!'_

"Now Kratos... things like this happen. Capes just... spontaneously combust! Natural causes...," Sera laughed nervously as she backed away from the mercenary just a little faster. His pace quickened to match hers.

I was debating between letting Kratos get a hold of her or try to divert his attention so Sera could get away when I heard Sera cry out and a loud splash. Genis and I ran to catch up to the rest of our team. We came upon Kratos, who was looking into the abyss with a somewhat amused expression.

I followed his gaze to see what he was looking at and had to swallow my laughter.

What we thought was an abyss was actually a pool of black liquid. A pool that Sera was currently sitting shoulder deep in. She looked like a drowned cat with her hair soaked and falling over her eyes. The glare she was shooting at Kratos suggested that she was not happy about it.

Genis started snickering beside me and Sera turned her glare to us.

Sera angrily shoved herself to her feet and this time I couldn't hold my laughter back. Her previously bright red jacket was now reddish brown with ugly dark brown splotches all over.

"Maybe this will teach you to be more aware of your surroundings." Kratos commented before continuing down the path.

Sera glared only a second before hoisting herself back up, refusing mine and Genis' outstretched hands.

She walked past us, her pride hurt, and we followed.

Not much else happened until we got to the sealed gate from before. Kratos, who had taken the Sorcerer's Ring from Sera after the earlier incident, opened it himself.

The shimmering air around the door disappeared and Kratos walked forward, opening it to a closet sized room. There was some type of circular device on the floor in front of us.

"Oh, good." Genis stepped forward and disappeared before my eyes. I blinked, trying to figure out what had happened. Did we just open the door to a portal?

Kratos gestured for me to go first so I did. I stepped forward and all of a sudden there was nothing. I felt just like I had just a couple hours ago, when I had first entered this world. And then, quite as suddenly, I was in a different room.

Windows on the walls around us let in plenty of light for us to see the tapestries decorating the place and the huge warp thingy in the middle of the room.

_'That's the altar.'_ Colette helpfully supplied. '_The stone there is the Cruxis Crystal. They say I was born with that in my hand.' _

"This appears to be the top floor." Kratos observed.

"And we've reached the altar." I studied the room more, stepping closer to the altar as Colette instructed. There was enough light in the room for me to see the vaulted ceiling where there seemed to be a pool of water. As I was staring at it, a drop started falling. Was gravity finally having its effect here?

A flash of light filled the room and a blonde man with wings showed. He was also wearing a dress, but at least it was green and he got an awesome pope hat to match.

Silence filled the room as the angel man slowly opened his eyes and took all of us in. Was it just me or did his look change as it passed over us? Well, he looked fine as his eyes passed over me and Genis, but it hardened when he got to Sera and Kratos.

"So is that Colle's real father?" Genis asked from almost directly behind me.

I looked back at Genis who was looking at me. I shrugged. Sera was oddly quiet in the corner, frowning to herself.

"I am Remiel," The angel started, "I am an angel of judgment. I am here to guide Colle, son of the mana lineage, on his journey to heaven as the seventh Chosen."

Remiel floated down, his feet just above the altar, while the Cruxis Crystal floated towards me.

"The time has come to awaken the Goddess Martel, who sleeps at the center of the world."

Genis was shaking with excitement next to me. "Awaken the Goddess Martel..." he whispered, "It's just like the legend Raine told us about."

The Cruxis Crystal floated even closer to me and with a flash of light, it was gone and there was a slight weight on my chest.

"From this moment," Remiel was still talking, "Colle becomes the Chosen of Regeneration. We of Cruxis bless this event, and hereby bestow the Tower of Salvation upon Sylvarant." He gestured out the window to our right and Genis gasped in happy surprise.

"Now the world will be saved!" He ran to the window.

"Colle, the Chosen of Regeneration. Unlock the seals that guard the Tower of Salvation and climb its stairs to heaven in distant lands." Remiel continued his speech as if Genis hadn't said anything. He paused now, looking at me expectantly.

"Er... yes, sir." I figured he was waiting for me to answer him.

"Very good. We of Cruxis shall grant you the power of the angels with each seal you unlock. Once you are reborn as an angel, this eroded world will be regenerated.

"First head south, to the Seal of Fire. Offer your prayers in that distant land."

"Uh, sure. Yeah, I'll do that."

Remiel started ascending back into the pool.

There was a flash of light and the rude angel was gone, leaving a bunch of feathers falling in his wake.

Silence filled the room before Kratos spoke. "You've received the oracle. Then let us leave now, Chosen."

"Oh, yeah." I stepped on the warp before him, and after the short trip through space, I was back at the entrance. I wobbled forward a bit. Going through the warp left me disoriented.

A second later Kratos stepped of the warp and started heading out.

"Hey! Wait up!" I called, running to catch up.

_~It was as I was finishing up this chapter that I realized something. I despise first person. I tried it like PyrothTenka (cause she said it was a good exercise in writing :P) and I just can't get the hang of staying in one person's head for long. _

_Serrith~_


End file.
